At a time where we celebrate labor in this country, the NFL's labor force is drastically reduced as teams pare their rosters for the opening of the season. Prior to this weekend, there were approximately 2800 players in the NFL; now there are approximately 1900, as a third of the workforce has been scrubbed.

The silver lining of this lockout has been that it has exposed the way the NFL does business, and I'm not talking about rookie wage scales, salary caps or revenue sharing. I'm talking about the way it views its fans, or, more accurately, its customers.

The situation in Dallas, Texas is drastic. Millions of men are outside of their houses playing with their children, feigning a sort of happiness that can't possibly be genuine. It is November 13th, 2011, and there is no football.

As we lurch into a bumpy ride to the finish of the two-year negotiation between NFL Owners and Players, the issue holding up an agreement that both sides have claimed to want for several months is the continuing drama about rookie salaries.

It's a good thing they read the papers over there. Libya is scheduled to host the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament in 2013. But according to reports, "Other options are being considered." Really?

Yesterday, Republicans in the House passed a bill with no Democratic support to cut off funding for NPR altogether and to restrict local public radio stations from using federal funds from buying programing from NPR.